Automobile door latch



Aug. 4, was. 11,548,372

R. G. MOQRE AUTOMOBI LE DOOR LATCH Filed May 23 1924 2 Sheeiis-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug 4, W25. 31,548,372

R. G." MOORE AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed-May 23 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.1

INVENTOR EAYM NB BMUURB. gm/y WW ATTORNEY Patented 4, 1925.

UNITED} STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND e. moons, 01+ Bnmenronr, CONNECTICUT, assmnon r0 'rns sassrcx comm, or ssrnenson'r, cormsc'rrcur, A cosroasrron or connncrrcur.

AUTOMOBILE noon LATCH.

Applicationflled Kay 2;, 1924. Serial No. 715,272.

. ments in Automobile Door Latches, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to improvements in automobile door latches, and has forv an object to provide a latch of this character, having bothan inside'and an outside opcrating handle, and which may be locked from the inside, so as to prevent. operation of the outside handle. This type of latch is especially adapted for use upon doors of closed cars, one of the doors of which is adapted to be locked from theoutside, while.

the others, pr'ovidedwithv latches according to the present invention, are locked from the insid A which the locking means is incorporated in the inside handle structure, in such manner as to be attached to the-inside handle lever, without necessitating any'change or alteration in the operative parts of the latch proper. I

A still further object is to provide a latch having a double acting outside handle,

which will be locked againstmovement in either direction upon operation of the improved locking means, and also to provide an inside locking handle adapted 'to be moved to locking position by merely moving the same in a direction 0 posed to the usual swin 'ng movement emp oyedin retracting the itch, and to be unlocked simply by moving the handle in the usual manner to retract the latch.

Other objects are. to provide a locking handle structure enabling the use of a relatively short inside retracting lever, thereby simpliiying and economizing the manufacture and assembly and to provide locking means which wnot readily .get out p of order.

With the above and other objects in view,-

embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompany-1n drawings, and these embodiments will be ereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

e further object isto provide alatch in Fig. 1 is an inside elevation of the corner of an automobile door provided with one embodiment of the invention, and showing n dotted lines the retraction position of the inside and outside handles;

Flg, 2 is a similar view, and showing the inside handle in locked osition;

a Fig. 3 is an enlarged etail view, in elevation, of the locking means, and showingthe same in unlocked position;

Fig. 4 is a similar view, partly in section,

and showlng the locking means in locked .posltion Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view,

taken along the line 10-10 of Fig. 8; and Fig. 11 is a detail view in elevation, of a further modified form, and showing the same in unlocked position.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 thereof, the embodiment of the invention shown therein comprises a latch 10 secured to the automobile door 11 in the usual manner, and in cluding a rectilinearly movable bolt 12 slidable in a guide-we 13, and normally projected b means 0 a coil spring 14, being provide with a cut-out 15 in which. is'engaged the inside handle lever-16, pivoted upon the latch frame at- 17, and normally pressed forwardly, as shown in full lines Fi -1, by meansof a spring 18.

e outside handle 19 has its squared shank 20 engaged in a rotatable roll-back 21, having a heart-shaped cam 22 engaging above and below a hump-shaped cam portion 23 of the lever 16. By swinging the lever 16 rearwardly the bolt. will be retracted, or the same may be retracted by turning the outside handle 19 -in either direction, this latter operation swinging the lever 16 and thereby efiecting retraction of ing movement the outside handle will be consists in the positively locked, and the resent invention rovision 0 means for lockin said lever om the inside of the car.

e-handle for the lever 16 consists of an extension portion or hand-grip 24 extending through a slotted escutcheon 25. in they upper sill -o terior arm portion 26, the latter bein larlybent intermediate its verticafiy posed ends. At its lower end the arm is adapted to be pivotally secured to the upper endof the lever 16 for relative swinging movement in one direction, and for this urpose the extremity of said lower endo the arm is out atan angle, preferably forty-five the door, and screwed upon an inangude'grees, as at 27, and has a' coupling memb(1- 28 of U-shape in horizontal cross-section engaged about said endand rigidly secured thereto by rivets29,'said coupling member extending below-said inclined extremity and embracing the upper end of thelever 16, to

whichit is pivotally secured by a rivet' headed pin. 30. The uppler extremity of the lever 16 is extended sli tly above t a latch casing and is cut angu arly" as at 31, to be solidly engaged by the angular extremity 27 of the arm in the vertically aligned position of the same with the lever, so that upon swinging movement'of the handle to retracting position, as indicated in dotted lines Fig.

1, the handle arm and lever move as a rigid unit. The handle arm is adapted,'however,

1 to have limited'relative swinging movement in. the direction opposed to the retracting movement, and to this end the forward-portion of the inclined extremity 31 is rounded off, as at 33, and the forward wall of the coupling memben is cut away below the forward end of the inclined extremity 27, as at 3 v The coupling member is provided in continuation of its inner wall with a rearwardly and downwardly extending arm portion 33,- bent as at 36 in spaced relation to the vertical edge of the lever 16 and arm 26 into adjacent and parallel relation with the inner side of the latch casin At the end of the arm 35 there is provi ed a shouldered stud 37 riveted therein, and engaging a slot 38 in the latchcasin formed concentric with the ivotal axis 0 the lever 16, the stud being eaded, as at 39, at the forward side of the casing. The slot 38 is provided at its forward end with an u wardly extending cut-out of substantially circular conformation toreceive the stud 37, and. disposed concentricallyto the axis of the pin '30. The forward wall of the slot is provided with a rounded projection 41, over which the stud is adapted to be forced as it is moved from one. position to the 'other, whilethe opposed wall of the cut-out 40 is disundershot,

as fat-42, form a locking Shoulder. 1

The upper edgeof the latchcas ing is cut away at 43 to val owfor swinging movement of the lever, with the coupling member thereon, the lower end of said member extending into said portion 43. The operation is as follows: In the normal position of the handle, Figs.

"1 and 3, the relatively long bearing surfaces formed by the inclined extremities 27 and 31 are in solid contact with'each other, and the handle and lever are adapted to be swung as a rigid unit to retractin position,the stud 37 moving from one end of the slot 38 to the other, as clearly shown in Fig. 1; the

latch being also operable by means of the outside handle in this unlocked relation of the inside lever handle.

In order to lock the handle, the same is merely swung forwardly from its normal position to the positionindicated in Fig. 2, the stud 37 moving into the cut-out 40, 1t being necessary in moving the handle to such position toovercome the slight friction of the projection 41, and which normally servesto preventaccidental movement'of the handle to locking position, or to unlocked position whenthesame is locked. In this locked position the lever 16 is held against swinging movement as applied thereto through operation of-the outside handle, and the latch is therefore efl'e'ctively locked against operation by the outside handle. The latch is unlocked simply by movin the inside handle in retracting direction, t e initial movement disen aging the stud from the cut-out 40.

In Figs. 6 to 10 I have illustrated a modified form of the invention, theIatch struc ture being substantially the same as the first described form. The handle arm 44 in this embodiment is bent at an angle at its lower half in line with the angularly cut end 31 of the lever 16, so that its lower'edge. solidly engages said end, said armbeing provided at" its lower end with a U-shaped coupling member 45, secured thereto by rivets 46, an

projecting at each side into embracing rela tion with the end of the lever .16, being piv otally connected to the lever by a rivetheaded pin 47. The handlevarm is thus adapted to swing rigidly with the lever in retracting direction, an to be swung'relatively to said lever upon movement in the other direction.

The end of the arm 44 extends below the coupling member and has a tooth 48 formed thereon, and off-set by bendin as at 49, into superimposed relation with t e upper edge of the latch casing. In the unlocked osition, Figs. 6 and 8, the lower edge 0 the tooth is above the upper edge of the latch casing and free to be swun in retracting direction. In order to 100 y the lever, the handle is swung forwardly, to the position indicated in 7- and il, whereupon the tooth 48 is engaged in agcut out50 in'the upper edge ofthe casing, the inner edge of the-tooth being'inclinedor undershot, as at ing the outside,handle,1jandconsequently preventing operation oi, said outside handle.

, 1 The latch is unlocked simply ,by moving. the

- 41in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5.-

handle in. retraction direction, the initial: 'movement disengagi g the toothAS'from the cut-out 50.

The upper-edge oil-he latch casing iscut away, asat 52, to allow for swinging of'the lever, with the coupling member thereon, the lower end of said member extending into said portion 52.

' -In Fig.'11"there is illustrated" .aifur'ther modified form, substantially similar in con- .struction and operation to the firstfform, I but in which, instead of'the stud- 37, the end of the arm 35 lis bent'in'to the formof a' relatively flat elongatedrdng 53,fengaging theslot 38 andfadapted iir the locke position of'the handle tobe moved into an elon-,

gated cut-out 54 in the forward end of the slot. With this construction the handle may be moved to locked 'and unlocked. positions with a relatively short swinging movement.

In this form there is also illustrated a'spring detent for yieldably retainingthehandle in either its locked or unlocked position, the" function of such-spring means being sub- Stantially. the same as that of theprojection This spring detent; comprises a leaf spring 55 pivoted-upon the latch casing as 56, and provided;at-one end with a V -sh a ed cutout 57 engaging the lug 53,"-whie "at its other end it IS formed intov -shaped crosssection,as at 58, and is engaged at either side by a struck-up boss 59 of the casing, the action between the sprin andboss b'e-- ing'to'swing the former in either direction with a sna movement. Lugs'60 and 61 onthe casing imit the movement of the sprin in either direction. It will be lmderstoo that a spring detent substantially similar to this may be used in the other embodiments of. the invention I have illustrated and described preferred 5- and satisfactory embodiments of the inven be made therein, within the spirit and scope tion, but it will be vobvious that changes may thereoifljas defined in the appended-claims. Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a 1. in a latch, a bolt adapted to-"be projected and retracted, inside bolt, retracting means, a handle for said inside bolt retracting means pivoted thereto for relative pivotal movement in one direction, means adaptedto cooperate with said handle to 1001; said retracting means u on said rel- 'ative pivotal movement of sai handle, and outside bolt retracting means adaptedto be 51, and the inner wall of the cut-out being also inclined, .so that the same are interlock ingly engaged, thereby locking the lever;

against swinging movement, through turn-.. 1

locked against operation through the locking of said first retracting means.

2l In a latch, a bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, inside bolt retracting;

lock said retracting means. upon said relativemovement of said handle, and outside bolt retracting means adapted. to be locked against'operation through ,the locking of said firstretracting means.

3. Ina latch, a bolt adapted-tobe projected and retracted, inside bolt retracting means, a handle for said inside bolt retracting' means connected thereto for relative movementin a direction opposed to there-f tracting movement of said .means, means 7 adapted to cooperate fwith said handle to 5 look said retracting means upon said relative movement of'saidhandlaand to un- '7 look said handle 'upon movement thereof in retracting direction, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be lockedd ainst operation through theilocking of sai H retracting means. 4. In a latch,'a

bolt. adapted be pro jecte'd and retracted, inside bolt retracting I means, a handleforsaid inside boltretractingi means connected thereto @fOl relative movement in -a direction opposed tothev-yree "tractin movement of" said 'mea-ris,;.. means adapted to cooperate with said bandle-to lock said retracting means upon said relative,

movement of said handle, the initial moveadapted to unlock said retractin means, and

outside bolt retractingmeans a apted to be locked ainst operation through the lookinglof said first retracting means. j

'5, In 'a latch including a casing, a bolt rejected and retracted, in-

adapted to be I side holt retracting means, a handle for said" inside retracting means pivoted thereto adj acent said casing for relative pivotal movement 1n one direction, means adapted. to

tracting means adapted to be locked against operation through the locking of said first retracting means.-

a in a latch including a. m t bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, in

ment of 'said' handle in retracting direction cooperate with said handle'to lock said re,-

. tracting means upon said relative ivotal' movement of said handle, and outside It reside bolt retracting means, ahandle for said inside bolt retracting means pivoted thereto for relative pivotal movement in one direction, means on said latch casing adapted to cooperate with said. handle to lock ICIIPOH said relative pivotal movement of sai side bolt retracting means ada ted-to be locked against operation'throug theglockin of said first retracting means. f

In a latch including a caslng, a bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, an inside bolt retracting lever pivoted thereto for relative pivotal. movement in one direction, means adapted to cooperate with said handle to locksaid retracting means upon said relative pivotal movement of said handle, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be locked against operation through the locking of said first retracting means.

8. In a latch including a casing, 'a' bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, an inside bolt retracting lever pivoted to the latch casin and terminating adjacent the edge of sai casin an extension handle arm pivoted to the en of said lever for relative pivotal movement in one direction, means adapted to cooperate With said handle arm to lock said retracting means upon said relative pivotal movement of said handle arm, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be locked against operation through the lockinglof said first retracting means.

9. In a latch, a bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, inside bolt retracting means, a handle for said inside bolt retract? ing means, a coupling member pivotally connecting said handleto said retracting means for relative pivotal movement in one direction, means adapted to cooperate with said handle to lock said retracting means upon said relative pivotal movement of said handle, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be locked against operation through thelocking of saidfi'rst retracting means;

10. In a latch, a bolt adapted to be pro jected and retracted, inside bolt retracting means having an inclined extremity, a handle for said inside bolt retracting means, including an inclined surface adapted to engage said inclined extremity, and pivotall connected to said retracting means for re ative pivotal movement in one direction, means adapted to cooperate with said handle to lock said retracting means upon said relative pivotal movement of said handle, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be locked against operation through the locking of said first retracting means. I

11. In a latch,'a bolt adapted to be projected and retracted, inside bolt retractin means, a handle pivotally mounted on said means, means cooperatively related to said handle whereby the handle is adapted to be manually moved to locked and unlocked relation therewith, and outside bolt retract: ing means adapted to be locked against operation through the lockin of said handle.

12. In a latch, a bolt a apted to be projected and retracted, inside bolt retracting means, an extension pivotally mounted on said means, means cooperatively related to said extension whereby the latter is adapted to be manually moved,- to locked and unlocked relation therewith, and outside bolt retracting means adapted to be locked against operation through the locking of said extension, said bolt in the locked relation of said extension being free to move in retracting direction through pressure ap plied to one end of said bolt.

Si ed at Bridgeport, in the county of- RAYMOND G. MOOREr 

